New pepper clue to pain
Thursday September 12th, 2013
Hot peppers and spices have intrigued medical researchers for some time - and a new study has pin-pointed a popular ingredient in Chinese food for its effect on the nervous system.
Researchers
say their study of Szechuan pepper may help improve understanding of chronic
pain.
They believe the way the pepper causes burning sensations is similar to the "tingling" sensations that many patients with chronic pain complain of.
Researchers at University College London, UK, have reported their findings in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
They say the pepper is unusual in that it works on "light touch" fibres on the lips and tongue, sending some 50 signals to the brain every second.
They have found an ingredient called sanshool that is responsible.
Researcher Dr Nobuhiro Hagura said: “This is the first time that we’ve been able to show how chemicals activate touch fibres, inducing a measureable frequency.
"We know that natural products like chilli, mustard oil and menthol can activate the thermal and pain fibres in the skin, but we wanted to find out why Szechuan pepper specifically works on the light-touch fibres, producing a conscious sensation of touch and that distinctive tingling feeling."
He added: “We hope that laboratory studies of the tingling sensations caused by sanshool could help to clarify the brain processes underlying these sensations, and how they are related to pain in some cases.”
Hagura et al. Food vibrations: Asian spice sets lips trembling. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. September 2013
Tags: Asia | Brain & Neurology | Diet & Food | Pain Relief | UK News
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